


Four Times Richie Was There, And One Time Eddie Wasn't

by viptenchou



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Aged-Up Characters, Canon Divergence, Don't comment on the inaccuracies please I'm well aware of my mistakes, Eddie and Richie are best friends, Eddie has OCD, Eddie is a glass boy, Fix it fic but not really, Four times meme, Growing up with a killer clown, Honestly very likely to be inaccurate, I edited out a SW ref then put it back in, I spent the AM hours writing this so I'm sorry if there are any errors, I'm trying to get back into Angst™, M/M, Major character death - Freeform, Missing Scenes, Not A Fix-It, Richie doesn't know how to process his own feelings, Subtle notsosuble references, That time jump thoooooough, Trashmouth Tozier is a GOOD FRIEND, You can decide whether they're dating or not, but we knew that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-29
Updated: 2017-09-29
Packaged: 2019-01-06 20:07:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12218001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/viptenchou/pseuds/viptenchou
Summary: 1. Projector scene, rewritten.2. Broken arm scene, rewritten.3. Eddie visits Richie.4. Eddie's insecurities.5. Deleted scene.6. Extra.





	Four Times Richie Was There, And One Time Eddie Wasn't

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> Comments are always appreciated!!

1\. It was when they were thirteen. (Well, Richie was a few months older _but that doesn't matter_.) Eddie had his inhaler in his hand, gripping onto it fiercely as he hunched himself over in the rickety chair Bill had in his garage. The chair creaked menacingly as Bill slid in the first slide and the image of Derry's old map projected onto the new one. The losers start to talk about how It was making its way around using the underground sewage pipes and that's when he starts to shake. It started as a shiver as if someone was looming over him and waiting to strike. It was something he could feel deep within him- _fear_. His fingers could barely hold onto his inhaler as he took a in deep, wheezing breath. Then he stands up and tears down the map, he would not sit in a dark ( _most likely disease and dust infested room_ ) as they talked about It and wanting to find it, **_for fuck's sake_**. It was then that the projector dropped and the flickers started. A few seconds later and he jumps over the mess of chairs and slides and Richie is holding him. Pulling his shirt and begging for his attention, needing it so desperately. Richie knew in his heart of hearts that his would sooner burst out of his chest if he saw the maniacal clown popping out of the light of the projector as if 3D animated, so clutching onto his best friend was metaphorically and physically an anchor to keep him grounded. In those few moments before Ben opened up the garage, Eddie felt like he was going to faint but also simultaneously have a heart attack. Had it not been for Richie, both would have probably ( _most likely_ ) happened.

 

2\. It was the very same summer of '89. Eddie still had the same shiny plastic blue inhaler. The same fanny pack ( _number one, without his bifocals_ ) with his name sewed in bright pink string, courtesy of Ms. Kapsbrak, along the underside. _It was a new dawn, a new day_ \- so as Eddie backed away in horror as It creeped towards him he wondered what and where exactly he went wrong for this to be happening to him. Not only was this ( _crack_ )house covered in cobwebs and dusty but as he leaned his weight on his right arm he winced in absolute pain. It was broken from falling through the floor and Pennywise was coming closer then suddenly It had its hand on his face and the demonic clown's drool was pooling onto his red rainbow shorts (his favorite pair of shorts). Gasps and wheezes escaped him when he heard Bill and Richie coming to him he screamed for help as if his life depended on it- and would you know it, _it really did_. His throat was hoarse as It started talking to Bill. That's exactly when Richie rushed over to Eddie to assess the situation and also when Bev stabbed It right in the eye and angered him even more. _Man if he didn't hate kids beforehand_. As It rushed towards the Losers in the house, Eddie absolutely could not breathe as pain was shooting up his arm so Richie took the opportunity to grab Eddie's face with his sweaty, nervous hands. Forcefully making the boy with the broken arm and blown out irises face him as sheer terror flooded all their senses. Richie was telling him to not look and whispering shakily that it was going to be okay and _it was_. It receded into a room and Bill chased after him and that's when Richie snapped his arm back in place.

Though Eddie doesn't admit it,  
He really _does_ owe Richie his life.

But Richie doesn't bring it up.

 

3\. It was the eve of Eddie's 17th birthday when he made the trek over to Richie's house.

With an elongated sigh, Eddie slowly laid himself down on Richie's front porch. He placed his forearm across his eyes as tired tears rolled down.

"I don't know if I can do this anymore, Rich."

His best friend chewed the inside of his cheek in an attempt to not crack any jokes. _This was a serious moment. Act serious Tozier_ , he told himself. The spectacled boy laid on his side, using his arm to prop his head up. Choosing his words carefully he spoke after a much expected silence- filled with Eddie's panicked breathing,

"Do you want to hold my hand? I'll even hug you if it'll make you feel better, Eds." Usually he didn't mind easing his friend's mind but when it came to his illness he wasn't quite sure to approach it. This made the hypochondriac of a child laugh then more tears rolled down,

"Yeah Richie, _can I_?"

He asked as he held out his unoccupied hand delicately. It took a few seconds for Richie to lace his fingers with Eddie's because... well, he didn't want anyone to see. But he ultimately decided against it. Richie knew Eddie couldn't see him but he nonchalantly looked anywhere, namely the darkened sky-  but at his friend as he spoke,

"I can make your favorite cookies if you want too."

 _Oatmeal with chocolate chips_ , for reference.

Another sigh leaves Eddie this time, lighter now, as he rubs circles on the backside of Richie's palm and squeezes. Revealing his face, he turns to face Richie.

"Thank you."

A comfortable silence envelopes the two as Eddie watches the snow fall, slowly drifting down to the ground.

"Look, Eds. It's your favorite."

"It looks so clean, Richie. So pretty and clean." Eddie mumbles before soft snores leave his mouth and his grip on Richie slowly loosens.

A bad habit of his.

 _Theirs_.

 

4\. Eddie, Eighteen.

Richie, barely Nineteen.

Curled up in fetal position on Richie's bed, Eddie sighed. Gentle fingers carded through his hair as he bit at his cuticles anxiety riddled throughout him.

"Am I _weird_ , Richie?"

" _No, of course not_ Eddie."

" _But I_ -"

"We're all different, that doesn't make us weird."

" _But_ -"

"Eds, you might have to do your rituals to get through the day but we all have to do things to get through life. Don't let anyone, _especially that Bowers kid_ , get to you okay?"

"..I love you."

"I know."

That night, Eddie stayed over.

As Richie hugged Eddie and rested his head on the former's, he pondered on why being "weird" was necessarily a _bad_ thing.

 But said nothing about it.

 

5\. Oddly enough, after a week of no Kaspbrak contact Richie finally went over to his residence to check up on him. It was summer once again but this time no grey water or killer clowns. As he knocked on the door, he bounced on his heels nervously and chewed his lip. He noticed that since Eddie wanted so much space from him that something must be wrong, so he vowed to wait a full week before checking up on him.

His mother answered with a soft ' _oh_.' She looked so down trodden and weary, as if she had been crying for a while and just stopped.

_Oh?_

_What does that mean?_

"You're here for Eddie." She stated eerily matter-a-factly.

"Yes, Ms. Kaspbrak. Is he in?"

"You didn't hear, huh?"

_What? Hear what?_

"He's pushing daisies now."

" _He's- Wh- **I'm s-sorry**?_ " Tears were started to well up in his eyes as he stared at Eddie's mother in pure disbelief. This has to be a _joke_. A _sick_ joke. A _sick fucking practical joke_.

"He killed himself 2 days ago."

 ** _No_**.

She closes the door and Richie's knees give in. His chest is tight and shivers run up and down his spine as he falls forward onto his knees. His eyes cannot stop producing tears as he pants, struggling to catch his breath as it felt as if his breath were knocked right out of him.

His best friend is _gone_? _Completely_? Just like _that_? _No goodbye_?

He won't see him again? Hug him? Hold his hand? Run his fingers through his soft hair?

Richie walks back to his house and sits on the front porch where he and Eddie use to lie. And now he's six feet under. A wry laugh leaves Richie as he cries even harder than before. He can't help but laugh at the irony through his tears.

" _You fucking fuckface. This is my fault isn't it? I shouldn't have waited so damn long._ "

 

6\. On his birthday every year, Richie spends it with Eddie. He had a bench put in right next to his headstone so that he could sit down and "share" his food with him.

Today, he got a dog.

"I named it Kaspbrat. Get it?"

Today, Eddie would have been twenty-four. Always a few months behind Richie- who turned twenty-five today.

"I got cookies. Your cookies. I asked for your name to be put on them instead though, I thought you'd like that." He laughs and tears fall onto the cookie bag, he chokes on his own words, "Yeah, uh, they asked who Eddie was and I said a dear friend. I talk like such an old man now.. without you."

In silence, Richie shovels chocolate oatmeal cookies into his mouth to prevent himself from speaking anymore and sobs as snow starts to fall.

"Look, Eds. Your f-favorite."

He holds his hand out to catch snowflakes as he looks at where Eddie should be, right next to him but instead all there is a slab of concrete with his stupid fucking name.

" _Yeah Richie, it's so pretty and clean_..." Richie mocked Eddie as his voice cracked.

"Yeah, that's right Eddie."

**Author's Note:**

> This is badly written, I'm sorry.


End file.
